The presence of odors, dust, and other contaminants in some industrial settings has long been a concern to business owners. In certain industries where various odors and airborne particles are constantly generated, workers are constantly exposed to an unhealthy environment and products and equipment are constantly exposed to the damaging effects of these contaminants. To address these concerns, these industries have turned to various air purification systems. The main type of industrial air purification system currently in use is an air filtration system. Air filtration systems transport contaminated air through specially designed filters to trap the undesirable particles.
To date, however, air filtration systems have proven to be highly ineffective. This is primarily due to the fact that in order to filter contaminated air, the air must be physically transported from the area where the contamination is generated to the filtration device. During this process, contaminated air is inevitably drawn directly through areas where it causes the most damage. In addition, air purification systems have no real effect on the contaminated air as it is immediately generated. Thus, a worker using a grinding tool or the like, is immediately subjected to the airborne particles which may be breathed in, or which may settle on clothing, or in hair. Accordingly, these workers are commonly required to wear various filtering masks and protective clothing.
Moreover, typical air filtration systems require regular and extensive maintenance. The filters must be constantly changed in order to ensure proper operation of the system, and the used filters must be treated as contaminated waste. Accordingly, considerable expense is required for the services of maintenance personal, the cost of new filters, and the disposal of used filters. Also, since the contaminated air is transported through the filtration system, contaminants can build up on sensitive areas of the system thereby causing system failure.
In other commercial settings such as restaurants, hotels, gymnasiums, etc., the prime concern is with the odors resulting from various activities and from the release of various sprays, chemicals, weldings, or burnings in an enclosed area. Unpleasant odors are, obviously, not conducive to promoting customer satisfaction or employee well-being. For the same reasons discussed above, air filtration systems have not produced satisfactory results in eliminating odors in these settings. Thus, there has long been a need in industrial and commercial settings for an air purification system which would eliminate particles and odors without transporting them through sensitive areas to be filtered.
Residential air filtration systems naturally suffer from the same disadvantages. Accordingly, in recent years various air ionization devices have been developed for residential use. Air purification by ionization is an old concept which has only recently gained deserved attention. Residential air ionization systems are designed to negatively ionize contaminated air so that it will attract electrically positively charged contaminants thereby causing these contaminants attach to each other in mid-air and drop to the floor. In theory, by spreading a constant stream of negatively ionized air combined with a smaller percentage of positively ionized air over a room, undesirable particles are effectively prevented from becoming airborne at their source. Thus, these particles are never transported into areas where they can cause damage or discomfort.
In addition, recent studies indicate that air ionization devices can actually have a beneficial effect even in the total absence of air contamination. These findings stem from a recognition that the normal outside ion concentration of the atmosphere is approximately five positive ions to four negative ions. When this normal concentration is upset to contain an excess of positive ions, e.g. inside a building where the negative ions are attracted by ground thereby depleting them or by atmospheric conditions, living organisms experience an overall negative health effect. Under these conditions, people tend to become lethargic and complacent. However, an overdose of negative ions in the atmosphere tends to have the opposite effect on people; raising attentiveness and providing a general feeling of well-being.
Despite this, the prior art has not been successful in providing a device which takes advantage of all of the benefits of air ionization. Known air ionization systems are only capable of handling relatively small enclosed areas. Widespread industrial use of such systems has not been achieved. In addition, prior art devices have yet to reap the health benefits of generating high concentrations of negative ions.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an air ionization device that is suitable for industrial uses. Such a device must effectively prevent airborne particles from spreading about a closed area, and at the same time require facile and infrequent service. In addition, there is a need in the art for an air ionization device which recognizes and reaps the benefits of creating excess concentrations of negative ions without suffering performance deviations as a result of contamination.